The 2027 NBA Draft Prospects Who Bet on Themselves
Motiejus Krivas, Thomas Haugh, Braylon Mullins, and Billy Richmond all made massive decisions to return to school. What do they need to improve to make it worth it for the 2027 NBA Draft?
Passed on the First Round on Purpose
Historically, the conventional wisdom was that if you got a first round grade, you stayed in the draft. In recent years, as NIL has evolved, that’s turned into a Top 20 grade. This year, though, we saw multiple guys decide that even that Top 20 area wasn’t enticing enough to keep them from returning to college. Obviously, these players had wide ranges of rankings depending on what team you talk to, but it would’ve been surprising if they didn’t all go in the first round. Whether it was Motiejus Krivas returning to Arizona, Thomas Haugh heading back to Florida, Brylon Mullins running it back with UConn, or Billy Richmond III reuniting with Arkansas, the first round depth of the 2026 NBA Draft took a hit. So, why did they return? The simple answer is that the NIL payment was more, or at least enough, to outbid their projected first round contract. When combined with the upside of improving their stock in what’s been considered a more wide-open draft class and pretty minimal downside, it’s a tough argument to beat. All four of these players could easily be one of the best returning players in college basketball. If they improve on a few key aspects of their game too, they could also be some of the most valuable prospects in the 2027 NBA Draft.
Motiejus Krivas – Arizona
Motiejus Krivas was one of the biggest surprise returners for me this season. After Arizona had a dominant season and Final Four run, I fully expected Krivas to stay in the 2026 NBA Draft, especially given the shallowness of the true centers. As positional skill and versatility continue to be in demand in the NBA, there’s still a ton of value when centers can just be elite at center-type stuff. That’s exactly what Krivas did last year.
Aside from being an insanely massive human being, Krivas was truly fantastic at doing traditional big man things. He was a force on the boards on both ends of the floor, a tremendous rim protector, a reliable defensive anchor, a foul-drawing machine, and an efficient scorer. It would have been awesome if Krivas was a dynamic shooter and shot creator, but he proved that he didn’t need to be. By being elite at multiple big man-specific skills, Krivas showcased that he already has an extremely high baseline as a pro.
